Thursday, June 28, 2012

Tax Rebate for companies whose workers are all regular workers on employment contracts until retirement. (i.e. companies where no workers, who are not employees of the principal, but supplied by contractors for labour, and no short-term contract employees). Companies who use workers on short-term contract, or workers without making them employees as provided by contractors for labour, really do not even care for the rights and welfare of workers and their families. Companies that care will only be using workers, who are all their employees, who are regular permanent employee until retirement...

Tax Rebate for companies who practices no discrimination especially based on gender - Remember the Guppy Case where women are being discriminated against and are made to retire at 50 when men are allowed to retire at 55...Federal Constitution guarantees equality - but alas the obligation not to discriminate seems not to extend to PRIVATE companies... and this is SO WRONG.

But the Malaysian government foolishly is giving 100% tax rebate for companies that have family day celebrations - but alas, how can these companies that do not even care for their own employees - and put them on short-term contracts, or even those that use workers, employees of contractors for labour...

So, will these Family Day Celebrations be for ALL the workers at the factory - or just the companies regular employees - not their short term employees, not for the workers supplied by the contractors for labour - the 'outsourced worker'..

Family Day for migrant workers - they cannot even fall in love and get married when they are in Malaysia - not even to some other migrant worker. They cannot even bring their families to Malaysia as they work. Women migrant workers who get 'pregnant' get their work passes cancelled and are sent back to their countries... So for Migrant Workers - it would be just a BACHELOR DAY CELEBRATION

No conditions placed on these companies - so maybe some companies will organize a Family Day Celebration for SOME (not all) workers - maybe at some major hotel, etc - (maybe even in lieu of annual dinners) - after all they will get Tax Rebates from the government - 100% Tax Rebates...

Well, Malaysia is in financial trouble, so says the BN government - and thus the cut in subsidies, and the increase in prices...so how come the government is willing to give Tax Rebates for these companies...usually rich companies...

Give Tax Rebates to the poor... to the needy ...to the ordinary Malaysians.... not to the RICH...

PM: Companies to get 100% tax rebate on expenses for holding Family Day events

KUALA LUMPUR: Private sector companies will get a 100% tax rebate on
expenses to hold their 1Malaysia Family Day celebrations in conjunction
with the national-level celebration in November this year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib,
who assumed the responsibility of the Women, Family and Community
Development Ministry in April, made the announcement in Parliament
Monday, saying this was part of the ministry's move to further
strengthen the family institution.

"I am glad to announce that November has been fixed for the national-level 1Malaysia Family Day celebration this year.

"Private
companies that hold events to mark the celebrations would be given 100%
rebate on expenses incurred to organise their respective events," he
said, when answering a question raised by Zuraida Kamaruddin
(PKR-Ampang) in Parliament.

Geneva (ILO NEWS) – The Government of Malaysia deposited with the
International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the
Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention,
2006 (No. 187). Malaysia is the 22nd member State to ratify the
Convention.

The instrument of ratification was presented by Malaysia’s Minister of
Human Resources, Dr Subramaniam K. V. Sathasivam, to the Director
General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr Juan Somavia,
at a ceremony on 7 June 2012 in the framework of the 101st
International Labour Conference (ILC).

In depositing this instrument, Mr Sathasivam said “This ratification is
one of the measures taken by the Government to implement its
Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan 2015 which aims to foster a
preventative safety culture, develop company OSH management systems, and
enhance the involvement of all stakeholders. It also reflects the
commitment made by the Government of Malaysia in 2008 when it signed the
Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work”.

Mr Somavia said “This ratification is an expression of commitment by the
Government of Malaysia to ensure a solid legal basis for the promotion
and implementation of an occupational safety and health policy in the
country. Malaysia joins other member States that have made a formal
commitment to implement the Convention and becomes the third country in
Asia to do so after Japan and the Republic of Korea”.

Convention No. 187 provides a framework for a coherent and systematic
approach to occupational safety and health and promotes the recognition
and application of other ILO Conventions on the issue. In ratifying this
international instrument, Malaysia commits itself to continuous
improvement of occupational safety and health by means of a national
policy, a national system and a national programme aimed at the
prevention of occupational injuries, diseases and deaths, through
tripartism and social dialogue.

The ILO estimates that 317 million workplace accidents and 2.3 million
deaths occur worldwide every year. In the past decade the rate of
work-related accidents in Malaysia has decreased by more than 40 per
cent. The Malaysian Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan has the
goal of reducing injuries by an additional 30 per cent and fatalities by
20 per cent by 2015.

The ILC is the annual meeting of the 185 member States of the ILO. The
mandate of this UN specialised agency includes promoting rights at work,
decent employment opportunities, social protection and tripartite
dialogue on work-related issues.

During
the last few weeks the public has heard the wildly positive and
optimistic views of both the government and some local scientists
concerning the Lynas plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

On 20th March, the
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), Dr Maximus
Ongkili, told the Dewan Rakyat that the Lynas plant is safe and not
harmful to public health.

He said that the effluent
from the plant contained low radioactive material. He explained that the
effluent was not categorised as a radioactive material waste by the
International Atomic Energy Agency, as it contained natural radioactive
material ('Ongkili: Proposed Gebeng Rare Earth Plant Is Safe', Bernama,
23 March 2011).

Tenorm
is produced when activities such as uranium mining, or sewage sludge
treatment, concentrate or expose radioactive materials that occur
naturally in ores, soils, water, or other natural materials.

In
other words, this natural radioactive material has been made dangerous
because it was removed from the ground and concentrated by mechanical
and chemical processes.

It has been exported by Australia and will be left in Malaysia as waste by Lynas.

The
radioactive material does not disappear once it reaches and is
processed in Malaysia, and this dangerous material will be left in
Malaysia.

Malaysians will need to keep this securely away from humans for hundreds of thousands of years.

Lynas
and AELB have made the Tenorm sound like low level waste by merely
diluting the waste until it conforms with IAEA regulations.

Diluting
does not make the radiation ‘go away', and if the diluting liquid
evaporates, you will again have concentrated radioactive material very
harmful to people. The uranium and thorium will not evaporate with time.

Bear in mind that Australia has categorically stated that it will refuse to receive radioactive materials from other countries.

During
the recent parliamentary select committee (PSC) public hearings on
Lynas, nuclear physicist Dr Abdul Rahman Omar reportedly praised the
value of the thorium wastes i.e. one tonne of thorium "can generate 1
gigawatt of electricity a year which is worth RM 1 billion to RM 2
billion, multiply this by 2,000 tonnes a year that the factory will
produce, then it is worth between RM2 trillion to RM4 trillion in
electricity". (Read nuclear energy and nuclear reactor).

He added
that this technology dubbed Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) was mooted by the
Americans at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, between 1968 to 1972 but
was abandoned in favour of uranium due to its abundance. "China is now
working very hard on using thorium for energy generation".

Alternatively,
the gypsum by product produced from Lynas could be sold to China which
would extract the thorium for energy production", he said ('Lynas'
thorium can generate RM4 trillion in energy', Nigel Aw, Malaysiakini,
May 21, 2012).

However, according to an article published in the UK Guardian
(23 June 2011), debunking thorium as a greener nuclear option, it
states that "There is a significant sticking point to the promotion of
thorium as the ‘great green hope' of clean energy production: It remains
unproven on a commercial scale. While it has been around since the
1950s (and an experimental 10MW LFTR (liquid fluoride thorium reactor)
did run for five years during the 1960s at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
in the US, though using uranium and plutonium as fuel) it is still a
next generation nuclear technology - theoretical".

The article
further states that although China has announced that it intends to
develop a thorium MSR, nuclear radiologist Peter Karamoskos of the
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), says "the
world shouldn't hold its breath".

He added that "Without
exception, [thorium reactors] have never been commercially viable, nor
do any of the intended new designs even remotely seem to be viable. Like
all nuclear power production they rely on extensive taxpayer subsidies;
the only difference is that with thorium and other breeder reactors
these are of an order of magnitude greater, which is why no government
has ever continued their funding".

The article states that "Those
who support renewables say they will have come so far in cost and
efficiency terms by the time the technology is perfected and upscaled
that thorium reactors will already be uneconomic. Indeed, if renewables
had a fraction of nuclear's current subsidies they could already be
light years ahead".

Health risks of thorium and other tenorms
All other issues aside, thorium is still nuclear energy, say
environmentalists, its reactors disgorging the same toxic by-products
and fissile waste with the same millennial half-lives.

Oliver
Tickell, author of ‘Kyoto2', says the fission materials produced from
thorium are of a different spectrum to those from uranium-235, but
‘"nclude many dangerous-to-health alpha and beta emitters".

Anti-nuclear
campaigner Peter Karamoskos goes further, dismissing a ‘dishonest
fantasy' perpetuated by the pro-nuclear lobby. "Thorium cannot in itself
power a reactor; unlike natural uranium, it does not contain enough
fissile material to initiate a nuclear chain reaction. As a result it
must first be bombarded with neutrons to produce the highly radioactive
isotope uranium-233 - "so these are really U-233 reactors'," says
Karamoskos.

"This isotope is more hazardous than the U-235 used
in conventional reactors", he adds, "because it produces U-232 as a side
effect (half life: 160,000 years), on top of familiar fission
by-products such as technetium-99 (half life: up to 300,000 years) and
iodine-129 (half life: 15.7 million years).

"Add in
actinides such as protactinium-231 (half life: 33,000 years) and it soon
becomes apparent that thorium's superficial cleanliness will still
depend on digging some pretty deep holes to bury the highly radioactive
waste".

Referring to the UK, The Guardian article says
that "with billions of pounds already spent on nuclear research, reactor
construction and decommissioning costs - dwarfing commitments to
renewables - and proposed reform of the UK electricity markets
apparently hiding subsidies to the nuclear industry, the thorium dream
is considered by many to be a dangerous diversion".

Citing Jean
McSorley senior consultant for Greenpeace's nuclear campaign: "Even if
thorium technology does progress to the point where it might be
commercially viable, it will face the same problems as conventional
nuclear: it is not renewable or sustainable and cannot effectively
connect to smart grids. The technology is not tried and tested, and none
of the main players is interested. Thorium reactors are no more than a
distraction".

According to Dr. Rosalie Bertell, who is a
radiation expert, thorium reactors also produce a lot of Americium,
which is much more toxic than plutonium. "I do not think that, even if
thorium some day becomes a viable option, they will ever want to
separate out the thorium from the Malaysian waste, where it has been
significantly diluted so that it appears to be below regulatory concern.

"You cannot say it is a valuable commodity and also
release it as of no concern! Moreover, you are not dealing with pure
thorium, but with radioactive material with a long list of radioactive
decay products some of which are very radioactive. New reactors will get
their thorium from India or Australia. Malaysia would be considered a
secondary or tertiary source," she states.

In other words, there
is no economic possibility or feasibility that anyone will use the
Malaysian waste for thorium when there are large direct sources of
thorium to be had immediately in Australia or India.

Dr. Bertell
is a nuclear health expert who has done extensive research on nuclear
health impacts all over the world including the Marshall Islands, India,
Germany, Ukraine, US and Canada. She has been a consultant to the US
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Environmental Protection
Agency. She was a key witness during the Bukit Merah court hearings.

However,
contrary to the world experts, the local medical and nuclear so-called
experts have recently testified to the PSC that the thorium produced
from Lynas was too low to pose significant health dangers.

In
contrast to what the PSC has been told by the local so-called experts,
the health impacts of radiation are not benign. In a comparative study
by V. T. Padmanabhan et al of inhabitants of regions of normal
and high background radiation in Kerala from 1988 - 1994, the
researchers showed that thorium health damage from monazite sands was
evident (International Journal of Health ServicesVol. 34 No. 3 pp483-515, 2004).

The
study revealed that there was a high incidence of heritable anomalies
in the high background region (HBRR). There was a statistically
significant increase of Down syndrome, autosomal dominant anomalies and
multifactorial diseases and an insignificant increase of autosomal
recessive and X-linked recessive anomalies in the HBRR.

The main findings of the study have been summarised as follows:

The relative risk for chromosomal, autosomal dominant, and multifactorial anomalies is higher in the HBRR.

For
congenital anomalies (WHO's International Classification of Diseases,
ICD 740-757), there is no difference between the areas. Within the study
and control areas, ‘nonmigrant' couples have 51 percent and 61 percent
excess relative risk (ERR), respectively, in comparison to ‘migrant'
couples. The ERR among the related versus the unrelated couples is 96
percent in the HBRR and 41 percent in the NRR (normal radiation region).

Rates of multifactorial anomalies and multiple deaths
are higher in the HBRR. Again, the related and the nonmigrant couples
have higher risk than the migrants and the unrelated, respectively. The
rates among the migrants in both areas are more or less the same.

If
all untoward outcomes other than Down syndrome and Mendelian anomalies
are grouped together, 6.4 percent of the unrelated ‘migrants' in the NRR
are affected versus 16.4 percent of the related couples in the HBRR.

The
authors suspect that exposure to radiation was genetically significant.
"Besides the external radiation from beta particles and gamma rays from
the soil, there is the possibility of internal exposure through air,
water, and food. Soman (27) estimated the per capita daily uptake of
radium-228 by the study population as 4.72 Bq.

"Based
on the average consumption of sardines, Van de Laar (18) estimated the
daily intake as less than 0.01 Bq per person. Since the coastal land is
less fertile and farming and husbandry are restricted to small pockets,
the internal exposure is mainly from poultry products, fish, and
accidental ingestion of fine grains of monazite in childhood."

They
revealed that the mean cumulative exposure to external radiation during
the reproductive life of people living in the high-background radiation
regions is 18 rads for women and 22 rads for men, six times the
exposure in the normal radiation region.Conclusion Thorium from Lynas is Tenorm and a radioactive waste which has serious health risks.

We
urge the PSC and the government to seriously weigh the published and
reviewed scientific findings and views of the international experts
quoted above before decisions on Lynas are made.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Well, here again was a mining operation that was considered safe by Malaysian authorities and been going on - but recent survey by the community shows differently. Likewise, the case may be with Lynas..

78 pct Bukit Koman folk have 'cyanide-related' ailments

Wong Teck Chi

12:54PM Jun 21, 2012

A
recent survey done by Bukit Koman villagers revealed that 78.1 percent
of the residents in surrounding areas were suffering health problems,
which is believed to be related to cyanide used in local gold mine.

The
survey was carried out by the Bukit Koman action committee against the
use of cyanide in gold mining on May 19 and 20. The group interviewed
383 residents house by house in Bukit Koman and surrounding areas within
a 1km radius.

It also revealed that the figures were higher
among the residents who stay in Bukit Koman New Village, where 84.8
percent of the villagers said they have suffered at least one health
problem, while 57.2 percent said their health conditions worsened after
2009, when the gold mine started operations.

Residents of the
Bukit Koman New Village had for a long time alleged that cyanide, which
is used in the nearby mine, had led to a range of skin, eye, and
respiratory ailments.

This is the first time they have carried out a survey scientifically to substantiate their claim.

Analysing
the survey results, environmental and occupational safety consultant
Tan Hui Chun said the figure of skin disease and coughing is “alarming”
because it is 10 times higher than the normal rate, which is usually 5
percent.

Dermatologist Khim Pa, who has 26 years experience in
practice, also added that the results clearly showed that there is
“irritating” material on the air which caused the health problems.

“It
is quite clear that more than 50 percent of people facing itchiness
means that there is something in the air irritating to the eye and the
skin... It is worse on the expose parts of the skin.

“If the same
particles go into the lungs, they will cause coughing,” said the doctor
during a press conference held yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur and
Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

Bukit Koman action committee
member Hue Shieh Lee said the committee will submit the survey results
to relevant government authorities and hopes that the Minerals and
Geoscience Department will revoke the licence of the gold mine to
protect the residents’ health.

Panel hopes Yen Yen will contest in Raub

In a related development, Hue also commented on speculation that local parliamentarian Ng Yen Yen may transfer to a “safe seat” in the coming general election in view of the controversial issue.

She
said the tourism minister, who was accused of being ignorant about the
Bukit Koman issue, should stay in the Raub parliamentary seat and the
villagers will give her “a taste of losing”.

“Ng (right)
is our representative in parliament, she should have listened to our
voice and talked about the Bukit Koman issue. But unfortunately, she has
always said this is a political issue, not a health issue.

“We are hoping that she will come back to taste what is a loss. If the election is clean, I believe we can say good bye to her.”

Also
present during the press conference were fellow committee member Chong
Choy Yen and Bukit Koman villagers Hue Ah New, Woon Soon Fatt and his
seven-year-old son Woon Chee Hua.

It may not be 'cyanide' - but certainly something connected to the said mining operations may be affected the health of the local community - and if it is in the water/air, it will certainly affect the health of people in Pahang - Malaysia. The government needs to immediately check to determine whether the people's health and life is at risk.

Monday, June 18, 2012

"...However,
deputy speaker Wan Junaidi Jaafar reminded that the report is embargoed
until 11.30am tomorrow to allow the Dewan Rakyat to debate its findings
on whether the rare earths refinery posed hazards to health and the
environment...." - Malaysiakini

Why embargo the report? Should it not be made public before the Parliamentarians debate on the said report? Let us not forget that the Members of Parliament(MPs) are the representatives of the people - and as such, they certainly would want to get the views and opinions (nay...instructions) of the people that they represent on the said report before they had effectively debate the report. Their constituents certainly have a say of what their reps are going to say in Parliament....

Maybe Najib and his BN MPs have this odd understanding that democracy means that the people have a choice to choose their representatives once every 5 years by casting their votes during General Elections, and thereafter these reps have the freedom to say and do things on behalf of their constituents without the need to go back to the people and get their feedback, opinions, stance ....'instructions' on how a MP should be arguing in Parliament. As such that Lynas Report really should have been made public a long time before it is debated in Parliament - not embargoed as it is now (i.e. kept 'secret' ...away from the public eye) until the debate happens...What about the people - do they not have a say? Or will there be yet another debate thereafter, after MPs have the time to get instruction from their 'Bosses'...

Most MPs are not familiar with the issue of Lynas, the scientific arguments, etc .... so certainly, it is most essential that they be properly instructed by their 'constituents' before they can reasonably debate on this report....

Personally, I am of the opinion that the Opposition MPs should not have 'boycotted' this committee - and should have been part of this committee to ensure also that the final report is reflective of the findings of the committee. Remember, there is always the opportunity of coming out with a MINORITY REPORT by any number of the said Parliamentary Select Committee.... (But their decision is their decision - and they may have had their reasons but....)

Odd also is the fact, that this PSC had submitted its report hastily even before its deadline expired - and we all know that this is not at all an easy issue or question, and there is much much objections....

It would have been good if this most important select committee's proceedings were broadcasted live as this certainly is an issue that hundreds of thousands...may millions of Malaysian are most interested in...Maybe, in the near future (or maybe when there is a change of government), Malaysians will be able to follow these proceedings live on TV (or at the very least on radio)

Lynas PSC report tabled in Dewan Rakyat

S Pathmawathy

11:45AM Jun 18, 2012

The parliamentary select committee on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (Lamp) report was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The
select committee, formed on March 20, submitted its findings and
recommendations on the plant in Gebeng, Pahang even before its
three-month deadline expires.

However,
deputy speaker Wan Junaidi Jaafar reminded that the report is embargoed
until 11.30am tomorrow to allow the Dewan Rakyat to debate its findings
on whether the rare earths refinery posed hazards to health and the
environment.

Previously, it was reported that that the PSC had proposed to the government to impose public consultation sessions prior to launching new high-impact projects, especially one that involves public safety.

Malay-language daily Berita Harian,
quoting a source, reported that the people should be made aware about
the facts of such projects to avoid political manipulations.

Three spots were also offered to opposition
parliamentarians. However, they decided to not to be involved, insisting
that it was a “waste of time” since the government had refused to issue
a stop-work order on the plant until the PSC resolved its inquiry.- Malaysiakini, 18/6/2012, Lynas PSC report tabled in Dewan Rakyat

“I would rather go to jail than pay a fine but only if they find me guilty,” Miranda told The Malaysian Insider.

What freedom of peaceful assembly if you needed to get the permission of the police before you exercise this basic human right?

Now we have a new law called the PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012, andthis new law, in my opinion, is worse than the previous laws, for it not only restricts venues where peaceful assembly could be held, but it also imposes on the organizers of any peaceful assembly to get the prior 'consent of the owner or occupier of the place of assembly' and there is still a requirement that the police be notified ten(10) days prior to the intended protest...and the police can place restrictions and conditions...

Now, you cannot have a peaceful assembly at a prohibited place and "within fifty metres from the limit of the prohibited place", and prohibited places include petrol stations, hospitals, Fire stations, Airports, Railways, land public transport terminals, ports, canals, docks, wharves, piers, bridges and marinas, places of worship,kindergartens and schools... that means that one can effectively not have peaceful assemblies in any towns....

Oh yes - street protest are not allowed, and it is defined in the law as follows:- "street protest"
"means an open air assembly which begins with a meeting at a specified
place and consists of walking in a mass march or rally for the purpose
of objecting to or advancing a particular cause or causes;..."

So, where can you have a peaceful assembly - public places, like fields, Dataran Merdeka, etc - NO - you need the consent of the relevant local authority...

In short, this new law, that sounds so 'good', in fact effectively curtails even more the right of persons to have a peaceful assembly and protest...and this law has increased the penalties that will be imposed...

People resort to a peaceful assembly and protest - (1) to express their protest or support for a particular cause or issue; (2) to demonstrate that this is not just the views of a small minority but one that has the support of many many persons...; (3) to create awareness to other members of the public and to also lobby for their support in a particular cause... That is why it makes no sense if peaceful assemblies are going to be restricted to closed-door halls/stadiums/venues away from the public eye...

Why is the Malaysian government so fearful of the people? Why is the government so fearful of differing opinions and views? Why is the government so afraid of criticisms of its actions?

Have you seen Malaysian parliamentary reports on TV? Interestingly we never see the objections and the arguments made by the Oppositions... Why do we still not have live telecast of all Parliamentary proceedings - there already is CCTV coverage of parliamentary proceedings, and you can follow these proceedings any where in the parliament building - It is thus so simple for the government to just have a dedicated TV channel that will just let all persons in Malaysia to view it on their TVs at home without 'editing' - your comment programmes and 'interviews' can all be done after parliamentary proceedings end for the day... not during the proceedings. (Live broadcasts of parliamentary proceedings happen in many democracies - even in neighbouring Thailand... )

Catholic priest would choose jail over fine if found guilty of illegal assembly

By Debra Chong,
Assistant News Editor

June 16, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Rev Father Paulino Miranda could be
jailed a year and fined up to RM10,000 for taking part in a candlelight
vigil four years ago in Petaling Jaya near here despite a new law
allowing public assemblies in Malaysia.

Miranda is the parish priest of the Catholic church in Shah Alam. — Picture courtesy of andrew4jc.blogspot.com

But the Malaysian Catholic priest has said he would rather be locked up than spend a single sen on the fine.

“I would rather go to jail than pay a fine but only if they find me guilty,” Miranda told The Malaysian Insider.

“Paying the fine would be conceding that what I did was wrong,” he added when contacted yesterday.

Miranda is among 21 people on trial for taking part in an illegal
assembly in Petaling Jaya on October 9, 2008 and refusing a police order
to disperse, under section 27(5)(a) and section 27(4) of the Police Act
1967 which have since been amended and replaced with a new law allowing
peaceful public rallies.

Despite the change in law, the charge remains.

The vocal parish priest of the only Catholic church in Shah Alam, the
capital of Malaysia’s most-developed state, said he had asked his
lawyer, Francis Pereira, to write in to the Attorney-General’s Chambers
(AGC) in September last year asking for the charges against him to be
dropped following the change in law. It was to no avail.

The public prosecutor wrote back three months later in November 2011 rejecting his application.

“We will continue the prosecution against your client under section
27(5)(a) and section 27(4) of the Police Act 1967,” deputy public
prosecutor Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria said in his letter of reply dated
last November 22.

“I’ve decided, simply because as far as I am concerned, I did not do anything wrong.

“The whole thing was a candlelight vigil calling for the abolishment
of the ISA,” Miranda said, referring to the recently repealed Internal
Security Act, which had been criticised as an outdated law used to clamp
down on dissent against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

The parish priest of the Church of Divine Mercy has made no secret of
his stand and says he has also informed the Catholic Archbishop, Tan
Sri Murphy Pakiam, of his decision.

“Yes, I told him. He didn’t chide me. He said he’ll pray for me,” he said.

Asked what would happen to his church if he had to go to jail, he said: “Oh, don’t worry. We’re all not indispensable.”

But not everyone agrees with Miranda’s decision. His own lawyer seemed concerned for his client’s welfare.

Pereira told The Malaysian Insider he was aware that Miranda
had been telling several people about his jail-than-pay-fine stand, but
could not sway the priest to change his mind.

“I am the lawyer, I wouldn’t advise something like that.

“He’s got a mind of his own and his own convictions,” the lawyer said.

The prosecution closed its case yesterday. It will be a while before the court makes its ruling.

They are accused of taking part in an illegal assembly held on the
grounds in front of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) building on
October 9, 2008 between 9pm and 10.10pm, and failing to disperse after a
police order was given by Supt Mohamad Shukor Sulong about 9.50pm.

All 21 accused, whose ages ranged between 25 and 62, have pleaded not guilty.

If found guilty, they can be fined up to RM10,000 and jailed up to one year under section 27(8) of the same Police Act.

“This is a process of intimidation to drive fear into people from
exercising their democratic right of peaceful assembly,” Rev Father O.C.
Lim from the Catholic Research Centre here told The Malaysian Insider when Miranda was initially charged.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The letter from the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department in response to the letter accompanying the statement below, that as of today have been endorsed by 93 groups. The letter was received a few days ago in June.

What is stated in the said letter in Bahasa Malaysia, "With respect. I have been instructed to refer the abovementioned matter and enclosed herein is letter from Charles Hector for your attention and further consideration''

It is rare occurrence for usually we do not receive any letter of acknowledgment of receipt - so, we hope that this is not the only letter that we receive in response to this statement. The response here is only a copied letter stating that the matter has been referred to the Ministry of Human Resources. We look forward to getting a more comprehensive response from the Malaysian government.

Friday, June 01, 2012

3 Filipinos saved from death row

Vice
President Jejomar C. Binay on Wednesday said that three Filipino
workers were spared the death penalty in Sabah after receiving pardon
from the Malaysian government .

Also in Malaysia, another Filipino was handed down the death
sentence for drug possession, Binay said before he left for Washington
on Tuesday.

The Philippine embassy in Malaysia identified the three as Basir
Omar, Jaliman Salleh and Aldipal Hadani; the death convict was
identified as Eliza San Gabriel Resurreccion, 45 years old.

On Tuesday, Binay talked with Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato Sri
Anifah Aman and thanked the Malaysian government for granting the
pardon.

“We sincerely appreciate the grant of pardon and see it as further
validation of the strong ties between the Philippines and Malaysia,”
said Binay, also the presidential adviser on workers’ concerns.

Last January, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya
called on Sabah Governor and Pardons Board Chairman Tun Datuk Seri
Panglima, and asked for his intervention to have the death sentences of
six Filipinos, including the three, commuted.

The Pardons Board handed down on May 22 a decision commuting the
death sentence of Omar to 13 years and 7 months. The new sentence would
commence from the date of pardon.

Malaysia pardons 3 Filipinos on death row

MANILA – The Malaysian government has pardoned three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on death row in Sabah.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is in the Indonesian capital of
Kuala Lumpur, said Wednesday the three OFWs have been spared the death
penalty in Sabah.

The Philippine Embassy in Malaysia identified the three as Basir Omar, Jaliman Salleh and Aldipal Hadani.

In his talk with Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman on
Tuesday, Binay, Presidential Adviser on OFW concerns, thanked the
Malaysian government for granting the pardons.

“We sincerely appreciate the grant of pardon and see it as further
validation of the strong ties between the Philippines and Malaysia,” he
said.

In January, this year, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo
Malaya called on Sabah Governor and Pardons Board chairman Tun Datuk
Seri Panglima, and requested for his intervention to commute the death
sentences of six Filipinos, including the three.

The Pardons Board handed down on May 22 a decision commuting the
death sentence of Omar to 13 years and seven months. The new sentence
will commence its counting from the date of pardon.

Meanwhile, the death sentences for Salleh and Hadani were reduced to
15 years imprisonment in a decision rendered on May 14 in Kota Kinabalu.

The two were arrested on July 8, 2008 in Kota Kinabalu when police
found 867.1 grams of cannabis in their bags, and were sentenced to death
by the Sabah High Court on June 25, 2010.

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